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Guidance

Across all metrics, a more intense red colour indicates a higher level of need for good school places. Depending on the metric being displayed, this may correspond to either a high or a low number. For example, high levels of need correspond to high 'Demand' figures but low proportions of 'Good/Outstanding' schools; both of these cases are shown in bright red.

The opacity of the coloured areas can be adjusted with the slider below the map. This allows underlying geographical features to be made visible or invisible as required. It is also possible to switch the underlying map to a satellite or black-and-white view using the buttons at the top-left.

Any areas for which no data are available will appear in grey. If the whole map appears grey then no data exists for that year, so try moving the 'Year' slider. When viewing local authority areas, no data is provided for the City of London or the Isles of Scilly, which will therefore always appear in grey. This is because the numbers of pupils and schools they contain are too small to generate meaningful statistics. When viewing either primary or secondary planning areas, be sure to select the corresponding type of school too.

The 'Demand' metric for each area is calculated by taking DfE's data for actual or forecast pupils numbers and dividing it by current school capacity. It is expressed as a percentage. The measure for 'good schools' includes only schools with 'Outstanding' or 'Good' Ofsted ratings. Figures greater than 100% indicate that actual or forecast pupil numbers exceed current school capacity.

'Parental preference' is the ratio between the number of first-preference applications received and the number of school places available. A value of more than 100% indicates an area in which the number of places is insufficient to meet first-choice demand.

The 'KS2 attainment' metric for 2016-17 uses "Percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths". The metric for 2013-15 uses "Percentage of pupils reaching level 4B or above in reading and maths tests, and level 4 in teacher-assessed writing".

The 'KS2 progress' metric uses the DfE's value added measure.

KS4 Attainment 8 and Progress 8 data for 2015 cover only a subset of schools. The 2016-17 data include all schools.

The 'KS4 attainment' metric for 2013-15 uses "Total average capped point score per pupil". The 'KS4 progress' metric for the same years uses "Value added measure based on the best 8 GCSE and equivalent results".

The 'A-level attainment' metric uses "Average point score per A-level entry". Note that the way in which this is measured changed in 2016, so subsequent figures have lower values than in previous years. The 'A-level progress' metric uses the DfE's A-level value added score.

The KS4 and KS5 'Education/employment' metrics show the percentage of each cohort going on to an education, training or employment destination.

The 'NSN Score' is a combined metric that brings together data on demand, academic progress, Ofsted ratings, poverty and the 'poverty attainment gap' to indicate the overall level of perceived need for new or improved school places in an area. It does not take into account all local factors, so should be considered no more than indicative.

Primary and secondary planning area boundaries are not published so have been inferred from school locations and should therefore be considered approximate.